Dave Bakke: Should the ugly Abe buried in Lincoln Park be dug up?

Tuesday

Nov 11, 2014 at 9:23 PMNov 11, 2014 at 9:26 PM

By Dave BakkeStaff Writer

There is a formerly ugly statue of Abraham Lincoln buried in Lincoln Park. We have known this for seven years because Howard Beagles wrote a letter to the editor in 2007 to let us know he watched the statue being buried.

Now, professor and Lincoln historian Leigh Henson, a native of Lincoln, is wondering aloud if that statue should be excavated and restored.

The statue was unpopular, which is why it was buried. Really? A statue of Lincoln in Springfield that wasn’t popular? Who ever heard of such a thing? Look, even the bizarrely protruding Lincoln statue outside the public library has its fans.

Leigh, English professor emeritus at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri, has dug up (so to speak) the history of our buried statue with an assist from Curtis Mann at the Sangamon Valley Collection. Leigh has an in-depth treatment of it on his weblog at findinglincolnillinois.com/buriedlincolnstatue.

It’s an interesting tale that might help Springfield decide whether to bring the statue back or let sleeping Lincolns lie.

Henson reports that the statue, named The President, was dedicated in 1932 and placed on the grounds of what was then the county courthouse and is now the site of the Old State Capitol. It was a depiction of Abe, seated and reading a book. It was created by Baum Monument Works of Springfield.

Almost immediately, public opinion turned against it. “It doesn’t look like Lincoln,” was the main complaint. Leigh found old news articles that said the statue even frightened people at night. Another story reports that it disturbed dogs enough to make them bark at it.

Finally, in 1940, after many complaints, it was decided the statue would be relocated to a less-conspicuous spot in Lincoln Park. When it was placed in 1932, the statue was dedicated by the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War in tribute to their fathers. In 1940, their successors, the women of the Grand Army of the Republic organization, gave their blessing to the relocation. According to a news article, the women decided, “The representation of Lincoln in a seated position is not sufficiently dignified and impressive for Illinois’ greatest citizen.”

Even after it was relocated to Lincoln Park, people weren’t satisfied. That must have been one ugly statue.

The complaints about it not looking like Lincoln or being actually scary were solved when vandals stole the head from the statue. (Everybody’s an art critic.) After that, it was quietly buried, as if it were a dog’s bone. That’s where Howard Beagles, 86, comes in. He watched it being buried.

“It’s just one of those strange coincidences,” says Howard. “I was out there with one of my kids, in the park. I looked over there, hoping they’d gotten the head back on. It was gone. I walked over to the maintenance shop and asked what happened. The guy said, ‘Go down and take a look, we’re burying it.’ I walked down there and they were putting dirt on it. It was one chance in a million. Right place at the right time.”

This was in the early 1970s, and Howard’s best recollection is that the statue was buried in a ravine behind the maintenance shop. Leigh Henson came to Springfield and walked around behind the Lincoln Park maintenance shed, taking pictures and looking for any sign of the burial site. He doesn’t know the exact location but can get pretty close.

“Is there sufficient interest,” Leigh wrote in his weblog, “in the possibility of restoring this monument to unearth it enough to determine the feasibility of restoration?”

Well, I ask you, is there? A lot would depend on the condition of the statue after all these years underground. It’s certainly a historic artifact, object of curiosity and the subject of a legendary Springfield story.

The back of the statue features an ornate plaque that reads “Dedicated to Our Fathers, Grand Army of the Republic, By The National Organization Daughters of The Union Veterans Of The Civil War.” That plaque might be the real object worth saving.

Of course, the statue is without a head, but that might turn out to be a good thing. Lincoln’s face was the focus of the original complaints. Leigh says someone with the talent could sculpt a more pleasing Lincoln head and attach it to the statue if it is unearthed.

“If feasible,” Leigh writes, “such a restoration would strengthen civic pride and be a significant addition to the local Lincoln-lore landmarks.”

When our newspaper mentioned this statue in 2007, in an article about local outdoor Lincoln images, we didn’t know what had become of it or why it disappeared. Thanks to Leigh Henson, now we know.

He is in favor of exhuming the statue and restoring it. That, of course, would cost someone some money. And who would that someone be? The Springfield Park District? A state or private historical group?

And is anybody other than Leigh Henson interested in finding and digging up Abe? Now, we will find out.

Know of something quirky? Emotional? Funny? Inspiring? Dave Bakke is your man and his deadline is always near. Pitch your idea to him at dave.bakke@sj-r.com or at (217) 788-1541. His column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. To read more, visit www.sj-r.com/bakke.

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